The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for locating objects in three-dimensional space, and more specifically to determining the position and orientation of objects.
Images captured by a digital camera may be used to locate an object in the three-dimensional space viewed by the camera. In existing systems, image-processing algorithms may be applied to the images in an attempt to discern objects therein; for example, an edge-detection algorithm may be applied to attempt to locate the edges of objects in the image. The detected edges may be applied to identify the objects defined by the detected edges. These types of systems, however, tend to require substantial computational capacity and/or processing time to analyze the images, rely on being able to identify the object, and may lack of the precision to accurately determine the orientation of the objects. If the object is not found in the image, if a detected object is not recognized, or if the object comprises surfaces that are difficult to capture, these existing systems are unable to determine object properties with any accuracy or are unable to determine the properties at all. A need therefore exists for a system and method for quickly and accurately determining properties of objects in space.